Tuesday, January 18, 2011

When it comes to snacking, my taste buds are oriented toward salty all the way. I’ll pick pretzels over ice cream any day, so when a delivery of gourmet popcorn from Oogie's Snacks arrived at the office, I knew I was going to be ruining my lunch.

Oogie’s Snacks, which is based in Denver, uses a proprietary hybrid of non-GMO corn as a base for its addictive gourmet popcorn. The company was founded in 2005 by a group of college friends looking to develop a healthier nibble — the popcorn is all natural, gluten-free and 100-percent whole grain, so you don’t have to feel guilty. Recently revamped Oogie’s packaging debuted at the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco.

There are currently seven flavors of Oogie’s available, with more to come this year, and no, this isn’t your basic Smartfood. While there are classics like movie lovers butter and white cheddar, Oogie’s also offers creative flavors like spicy chipotle and lime and cracked pepper and Asiago.

I tried a couple of varieties, snacking on the sun dried tomato and Parmesan while watching TV one night and demolishing a bag of the smoked Gouda one week at the office, and can see Oogie’s entering my snacking rotation. Each flavor is unique and unexpected — the smokiness of the Gouda is really appealing, while the sun dried tomato is sweet and garlicky. The white cheddar picks up a hint of sweetness from onion powder, while the Hatch chili con queso, with red chili peppers and cheddar cheese, tastes like a taco in popcorn form. The flavors are strong without being overwhelming, and while you’ll end up with sticky fingers, it’s totally worth it.